Casino-style game apparatus involving player guessing

ABSTRACT

A method of playing a card game wherein gamers must guess numerous consecutive cards whether the following card will be lower or higher than the last card. A particular embodiment of this game is to play it on an electronic gaming device as a secondary game where the winnings of the primary game are used to fund bets for the secondary game. The preferred game display consists of presenting on a single row the thirteen (13) cards of a same suit of a standard card deck, all the thirteen (13) cards turned face down, and to turn the first to the left card face up when the gamer has decided to play. The gamer has to guess whether the following card to be turned will be lower or higher than that of the card displayed. If the gamer succeeds to pass through guessing right the whole thirteen (13) cards, a prize is awarded.

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a casino-style game, such as acard game, which provides player involvement by inputting guesses and asatisfactory level of fast play. Furthermore, the preferred environmentis to apply the card game to electronic gaming devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Gambling games are not new. Gambling games have existed forcenturies. However, even if some games are very old, they continue to bepopular. The perfect example of this is Poker games. Poker games wereplayed long ago and will still be played far into the future. The reasonwhy poker games are still so popular is that these games depend onstrategy developed by gamers. The outcome of the game depends on theknow-how and the experience of the gamers. Therefore, some gamers searchfor games presenting strategic choices such as Poker games.

[0003] Particularly with games applied to electronic gaming devices,designers have added features, such as bonus features, double upfeatures, fever features, etc. to increase the interest of the games.These features have the advantage of changing the rhythm of the game,therefore avoiding monotony.

[0004] Different kinds of games and features have been used since thebeginning of electronic gaming devices: instant bonus wins, awardsmultiplier of different kinds, progressive jackpots, fever round in theprimary game with slightly different rules, etc.

[0005] One award multiplier especially related to the present inventionis the double up feature that demands gamer to guess whether the nextcard will be higher or lower than the current card displayed on thescreen. Other double up aspects have also been used, such as a red orblack choice. However, the basics of this feature is essentially tooffer gamers a choice between two events with even probabilities ofoccurrence. Further, by allowing to double the bet of the winninggamers, and enabling a loss of all bets to the losing gamers, the payoffof the additional feature is essentially 100%.

[0006] The principle of giving gamers a possibility to place a betregarding whether the next card will be a higher or a low card andrewarding gamers for their good guess is not limited to featuresavailable in secondary screens but is also used in many primary games.Typical examples are Hofberg et al.'s game (U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,407)wherein gamers can place numerous bets on future cards including“low-ace thru six” and “hi-8 thru king” bets, and DiMuro's game (U.S.Pat. No. 5,918,884) wherein gamers have high/low bets possibilitiesalso.

[0007] During the last decade, electronic gaming devices have becomemore and more important in the industry. They have the advantage ofbeing easy to install where no other gambling devices could beinstalled. It is easy to install electronic gaming devices in a Bingohall, but almost impossible to have a Blackjack table. The law tolerateselectronic gaming devices in multiple environments other than casinos.This is the primary reason of their popularity.

[0008] However, limitations are encountered with electronic gamingdevices. Operators do not want to pay large amounts for the purchase ofthese devices. Therefore, to limit their cost, electronic gaming deviceshave limited processor possibilities and memory available. Consequently,a reason for the strong popularity for the double up feature as asecondary screen feature on electronic gaming devices is its need forlittle available memory. Bonus round features with high quality graphicsand numerous animations demand much more memory and power from theprocessor of the electronic gaming device, leaving less memory availablefor other games and features. But double up features do not need newgraphics; if the primary game is a card game, it uses the same cards, ifnot, the double up feature demands only two symbols to be used.Moreover, in both cases the double up feature does not require importantcomputing possibilities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] It is the object of the invention to offer a new card gameoffering challenge to the gamers.

[0010] Another object is to offer a game easy to understand, easy tomaster, and easy to play. Therefore, the object is to allow gamedesigners to place the card game of the invention as a secondary screenfeature. Furthermore, the object is meant to allow gamers to understandquickly the rules of the game and the best choice to make at each stepof the game.

[0011] Another object is to offer a game demanding few resources to beused. Therefore, the game can be installed as an additional feature inassociation with an existing game played on an electronic gaming device.Furthermore, the game of the invention increases the suspense on thewhole game, changes the rhythm of the game, therefore increase theinterest of the gamers and helps to avoid monotony to the gamers playingthe primary game.

[0012] Accordingly, the card game of the present invention is a gamewherein gamers must guess whether the next card will be a higher orlower card than the actual card showing. Furthermore, the process of thegame demands gamers to pass through a whole suit of predetermined cardsto win a play, thus be awarded a prize.

[0013] The cards used to play the game consists of the same cards as theone used in the primary game, in the case of the primary game being acard game. Furthermore, only part of the cards are used. The cards usedare predetermined for the play and known by the gamer.

[0014] The probability of success in passing through the whole series ofcards therefore depends on both the capacity of analysing the situationby the gamers to determine the choice having the greater probability ofoccurring, and the sequence of the cards randomly determined. Even ifthe choices the gamers have to make are simple, the game remainsinteresting because of random given situations occurring during the fallof the cards. A situation can appear simple, however knowing the cardsalready uncovered, thus the cards still available, the choice becomesharder.

[0015] Furthermore, contrary to the standard game, a guess whether thenext card is higher or lower, this game offers increased probabilitiesto the gamers at each step of the process for success. However, becausethere are multiple steps to pass through to win the play, the gamers seethemselves offered higher odds than the regular odds associated withstandard double up games; the odds increase in relation to the number ofsteps gamers must pass through. Consequently, the game offers moreinterest to gamers.

[0016] The preferred embodiment for this game consists of offering togamers to pass through a single set of cards of the same suite, i.e. thethirteen (13) cards from the ace to the king of diamond per example. Thecards are displayed on the screen of the electronic gaming device inrandom order, all cards face down except the furthest to the left.Afterwards, the gamer guesses whether the next card will be higher orlower than the card face up. If the gamer makes the wrong decision, theylose. Otherwise, the gamer passes to the next card and must compare thecard to the last card turned face up. If the gamer guesses right for thetwelve (12) cards initially faced down, the gamer is awarded the prize.Otherwise, the gamer loses their bet.

[0017] However, in other applications, the use of a card deck can bereplaced by other gaming symbols according to the environment of play,or what pleases players. With the use of other gaming symbols than cardgame, the ranking of the cards should be clear and easy to remember forplayers.

[0018] These and other aspects and advantages of the present inventionwill become better understood as seen in the following description andaccompanying drawings, herein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019]FIG. 1 is a schematic representing the card game of the presentinvention according to the first embodiment;

[0020]FIG. 2 is another schematic representing the card game of thepresent invention in FIG. 1 in the process of play;

[0021]FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the game according to the firstembodiment;

[0022]FIG. 4 is a block diagram according to the first embodiment; and

[0023]FIG. 5 is another schematic representing the card game accordingto another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] The preferred embodiment consists of playing the game on anelectronic gaming device, also known as a gaming apparatus. Moreover,the embodiment consists of offering the game as a secondary featureassociated with the primary game. To have access to the secondary game,the gamer must win in the primary game. Therefore, the gamer is offeredto gamble their winnings from the primary game in the secondary game.The process looks similar to the double up feature present inassociation with many games found on many electronic gaming devices.

[0025] Furthermore, the elements of the game are thirteen (13) cards ofthe same suite, the furthest to the left displayed face up and theothers displayed face down. The gamer guesses whether the next card willbe higher or lower than the card displayed face up. Depending if theguess of the gamer is the wrong or the right one, the gamer sees theplay end with the loss of the winnings they have won in the primary gameor the play continues until all the cards are turned face up, or thegamer guesses incorrectly.

[0026] When all the cards have been turned successfully, the gamer isawarded a prize corresponding to the odds awarded for the secondaryfeature game multiplied by the winnings the gamer won in the primarygame. However, even if the gamer sees strong interest in the secondarygame, the gamer cannot play multiple plays in sequence of the secondarygame. To play the secondary game, gamers need to win a prize in theprimary game, and afterwards can bet these winnings in the secondarygame. Consequently, gamers sees playing the secondary game as anopportunity and boredom is avoided.

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the play of the secondary game of thepresent invention, FIG. 1 shows a secondary screen of an electronicgaming device showing the secondary game after the gamer has chosen toplay the secondary game. The secondary screen displayed on theelectronic gaming device shows the winnings 2 won in the primary gameand used as a bet in the secondary game. Also, the value 4 of succeedingto turn all cards face up, therefore succeeding to pass through thewhole game, is displayed. This value 4 automatically changes in regardsto the winnings 2. Additionally, a help control 6 is displayed givingaccess to another screen displaying all the information the gamers needto understand the game, therefore to play it efficiently. On the lowerpart of the screen are displayed two (2) controls; a lower control 8 anda higher control 10 used by the gamer to guess for the next card.Furthermore, in the centre of the screen are displayed the thirteen (13)cards 12 in a random order. The furthest card to the left 14 isdisplayed face up. This card is the evaluation value used to compare thenext 16 card after being turn face up.

[0028] To illustrate the process of playing the game, table 1 shows aparticular sequence of play. In this sequence of play, the gamer seesthe first card turned up be a seven (7). It is the most difficult card agamer can begin with. The reason is that the probabilities of the nextcard being lower are the same as is for it being higher. However, inthis example, the gamer guesses correctly. Subsequently, they can guessagain until they win or lose. In the example, the gamer guesses rightall the time. Then, they receive a prize according to the bet. However,table 1 shows that some steps are easier than other. For example, thestep number 2 is to guess whether the next card will be higher or lowerthan the jack that was face up. If the gamer thinks a little, they willcount that only two cards are available to be next card in the highercards: the queen and the king. Beside, the lower cards being in greaternumber, the ace to the 10 except the 7 that is already face up,therefore not available. Consequently, even if the number of steps topass through to win the game is numerous, most of them offer very goododds of success.

EXAMPLE 1

[0029] Table 1 shows the different steps regarding this example when thegamer decides the category of the next card. TABLE 1 Sequence of cardsand associated guesses for example 1 Step Last card Choice Card turnedup Result  0 — —  7 —  1  7 Higher Jack Continue  2 Jack Lower  2Continue  3  2 Higher  8 Continue  4  8 Higher King Continue  5 KingLower  6 Continue  6  6 Lower  3 Continue  7  3 Higher 10 Continue  8 10Lower Ace Continue  9 Ace Higher  4 Continue 10  4 Higher  5 Continue 11 5 Higher Queen Continue 12 Queen Lower  9 Win

[0030] To clearly illustrate, in more detail the process of playing thegame, FIG. 2 illustrates the same screen than that of FIG. 1 some stepsfurther into play. In the illustration, the gamer has already passedthrough five (5) steps of the play. Consequently, the gamer sees infront of them six (6) cards 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 turned face up; theinitial card 14 and one card for each of the five (5) steps 16, 18, 20,22, 24 that were guessed successfully. At this time, the last cardturned face up 24 is the six (6). With the six (6) cards turned face up14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, the played can decide with more chance ofsuccess whether the next card 26 is higher or lower. In a regular doubleup game, if a gamer compares an unknown card to a six (6), the gamerknows that five (5) cards are lower: the ace to the five (5).Consequently, they know also that seven (7) cards are higher. However,with the present game, the gamer can count the cards already displayedand therefore deduct the possibilities for the lower or higher cards. Inthis case, only the two (2) 18 has be displayed in the lower cards,therefore one (1) out of five (5) cards. Furthermore, five (5) cardshave been displayed before the six (6). Therefore, there are only six(6) cards available to be displayed. With four (4) cards lower stillavailable, the best choice is to guess that the next card would belower.

[0031] To succeed in guessing right all the time, the gamers are awardedten (10) times the original bet won in the primary game.

[0032] To clarify more so, the flow chart in FIG. 3 presents the stepsof playing the present game. In the beginning, the gamer winnings aprize in the primary game. To play the secondary game, the gameractivates a control informing the electronic gaming device 28 of theirchoice. Then, the screen of the electronic gaming device changes todisplay the secondary game. In the secondary game display screen, thefirst thing the gamer sees is thirteen cards face down. To allow thegamer to know what they their choices are, the gamer can go to the helpcontrol to understand better how to play the secondary game, and canalso decide to exit the secondary game without losing any winnings fromthe primary game. However, when the gamer decides to play the game, theypress the play button on the electronic gaming device, therefore turningthe first card face up 30. Then the gamer guesses 32 whether the nextcard will be higher or lower than the last one. To guess, the gamerpress one of two controls; the higher card control or the lower cardcontrol. When a control has been pressed, the next card is turned faceup 34 and compared 36 to the last card turned face up. If the guess isbad, the gamer loses their winnings 42 won in the primary game. Thescreen change to the primary game allowing the gamer to go back to playthe primary game 44 again. However, if it is a successful guess andcards turned down are still available 38, the gamer must guess again forthe next card 32. Afterwards, the process continues until all the cardshave been turned face up. When all the cards have been guessedcorrectly, the gamer is awarded a prize 40 according to the primarywinnings. Then, the play returns to the primary game 44.

[0033] The block diagram in FIG. 4 illustrates the system. First acredit controller 46 receives the credit value from a gamer. Thesecredit are used to place bets in the primary game. Afterwards, the gamecontroller 48 plays and evaluates the game to its final outcome.Depending whether the outcome is a win or a loss, the gamer is awarded aprize 50 that they can gamble again in the secondary game as theirchoice. When choosing to gambling their winnings, the gamer goes in thesecondary game screen offering them to play the game. The play of thesecondary game is controlled by the second game controller 52 to thesecondary game final outcome. Subsequently and depending whether thegamer succeeds passing through the whole process of the game or not, thegamer is awarded a secondary prize by the secondary prize awardingcontroller 54 corresponding to a multiple of the winnings of the primarygame, or nothing. The prize is then added by the credit controller 46 tothe credits of the gamer and available for future plays of the primarygame.

[0034] Another embodiment consists of having this secondary game withslight changes in the rules and with a multiple step payoff. For thisembodiment, the fall of the first card is not random; but it is always aseven (7). Gamers are awarded if they succeed to turn up a minimum offour cards without guessing wrong, and they receive a bigger prize ifthey succeed to turn up all the cards, but loose their bet if they donot succeed to guess successfully the four cards. An example of thisembodiment, table 2 shows the pay table associated with this game. TABLE2 Pay table of the example 2 Successful huesses Odds 0 to 3 0 x  4 to 101 x All 8 x

[0035] For this second embodiment of the game of the invention, theprocess of playing the game is the same. Furthermore, the displayallowing gamers to play the secondary game is almost the same. The onlydifference is the display of the available prizes the gamer can beawarded. In the first embodiment, the gamer is offered only one prize.additionally, in the second embodiment, there are two different prizes:one for succeeding to guess four (4) to ten (10) cards, and one whensucceeding with all the cards.

[0036] A third embodiment consists to a similar game with anundetermined set of cards. In detail, when the gamers goes in thesecondary game and begin a play, they do not know in advance all thecards taking part in the game. One play can be comprised of some cardsand the following play can be comprised of a totally different set ofcards, or even a set of cards with some cards common to the first set.However, with this method, it is impossible for gamers to know inadvance the cards they will have to guess before beginning the play.Nevertheless, when the play begins, all the cards taking part in playare displayed on the screen, therefore allowing gamers to determine thebest guesses as in the first two embodiments.

[0037]FIG. 5 illustrates this embodiment. The cards being part of thesecondary game are in two separate areas; the reference area 56 and theplay area 58. The cards in the reference area 56 are turned face up andthe cards in the play area 58 are face down. Furthermore the cardinformation, the help control 6, the high card control 10 and the lowcard control 8 are on the screen of play. Furthermore, the amount of thewinnings from the primary game are still displayed addition to the valueof the prize for successfully uncovering one (1) line 60 or two (2)lines 62. Previous to the beginning of the play, the gamer chooses withthe one (1) line control 64 or the two (2) lines control 66 the numberof lines expected to guess correctly. Besides the choice of the numberof lines, the first card of the first line 68 is turned face up to allowthe gamer use of a card to compare and guess whether the next card ishigher or lower than the face up card.

[0038] A possible added option to the game to increase the confidence ofthe gamers is to randomly display some cards in the set, thereforeallowing the gamer to decrease the number of guesses necessary.Depending on the cards displayed, the gamer can avoid some situationswhere the guess would have been more difficult. An example is if a cardoriginally turned face up is a king, and during the process of the playthe card preceding is a seven (7). Normally, it would be difficult toguess with good probabilities of a right next card. However, because thefollowing card is known, the choice is easy.

[0039] Moreover, the method of play can still be applied with a multiplesteps pay table. Furthermore, the game can be divided into multiplesteps clearly defined on the play screen of the electronic gamingdevice.

[0040] The description of the above embodiments of the present inventionhas been presented for the purpose of illustration and is not intendedto limit the invention. The scope of the present invention is defined byappended claims. Various modifications and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as set forth in appendingclaims.

1. An apparatus for playing a casino-type game, the apparatuscomprising: a selection device for selecting an arrangement of aplurality of gaming symbols having a predetermined ranking value; aplayer input device for selecting one of at least an increase and adecrease in ranking value of a gaming symbol between a selected one ofsaid gaming symbols and a neighbouring one of said gaming symbols; adisplay generator generating a display of at least ones of said gamingsymbols whose increase or decrease in ranking value has been selected;and a prize calculator determining whether said selected increase ordecrease in ranking value is correct with respect to said selected oneof said gaming symbols and said neighbouring one of said gaming symbolsfor each of said gaming symbols, and outputting a prize value.
 2. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gaming symbols are playingcards.
 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said arrangementof a plurality of gaming symbols comprises a row of said playing cards.4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said playing cards areselected from a single deck.
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3,wherein said playing cards are selected from a single suit of a singledeck.
 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein saiddisplay generator displays simultaneously a plurality of parallel onesof said rows, each said row representing a single game segment, and saidprize calculator determining a prize after each game segment is played.7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein a first card in said rowof playing cards is displayed as overturned on said display, said playerinput device, said display generator and said prize calculator beingoperative to allow a player to select whether a next card is of higheror lower value than a previous card, following which said next card isdisplayed as overturned, until all cards in said row are overturned. 8.The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said prize value is zerounless said selected increase or decrease in ranking value is correctfor all cards in said row.
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein said selection device selects said arrangement at random. 10.The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display generatorgenerates a display of at least one of said gaming symbols independentlyfrom increase or decrease in ranking value of said gaming symbols beingselected.
 11. A method of calculating a prize in a casino-type game, themethod comprising: selecting an arrangement of a plurality of gamingsymbols having a predetermined ranking value; selecting one of at leastan increase and a decrease in ranking value of a gaming symbol between aselected one of said gaming symbols and a neighbouring one of saidgaming symbols; generating a display of at least ones of said gamingsymbols whose increase or decrease in ranking value has been selected;determining whether said selected increase or decrease in ranking valueis correct with respect to said selected one of said gaming symbols andsaid neighbouring one of said gaming symbols for each of said gamingsymbols; and calculating a prize value based on said determining. 12.The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said gaming symbols areplaying cards.
 13. The method as claimed in any one of claims 11 or 12,wherein said arrangement of a plurality of playing symbols comprises arow of said playing symbols.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 12,wherein said playing cards are selected from a single deck.
 15. Themethod as claimed in claim 12, wherein said playing cards are selectedfrom a single suite of a single deck.
 16. The method as claimed in claim13, wherein said arrangement comprises a plurality of parallel ones ofsaid rows, each said row representing a single game segment, withcalculating a said prize value after each said game segment is played.17. The method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein saidarrangement of gaming symbols are selected at random.
 18. The method asclaimed in any one of claims 13 or 16, wherein said prize value is zerounless said selected increase or decrease is correct for all said gamingsymbols in said row.
 19. The method as claimed in any one of claims 11to 18 wherein the said method is executed automatically in an electronicgaming device.
 20. A computer program comprising code means adapted toperform all steps of any one of claims 11 to 18, embodied on a computerreadable medium.
 21. A computer program comprising code means adapted toperform all steps of any one of claims 11 to 18, embodied on anelectrical or electro-magnetic signal.
 22. A gaming device comprised ofa betting controller receiving information from a gamer, further saidinformation being interpreted as bets; a game controller generatingsignals representing outcomes in the game; a display controllerdisplaying a representation of said signals on a gaming display; a prizeawarding means to award prizes according to said outcomes and said bets;and wherein said game device executes the steps defined in any one ofclaims 11 to 18.